Day by Day
by chili con queso
Summary: When the expiration date appears on the back of Max's neck, Jeb takes her away so that he can try to cure her. One-shot. FAX.


**The idea for this one-shot came from the music video for the Korean song "Haru Haru" (Day by Day) by Big Bang. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Maximum Ride series.**

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Max rubs her eyes sleepily, and trudges up the stairs to her bedroom in the Flock's latest safe house. It is May 7th, and, because none of the Flock knows their actual day of birth, she is semi-officially fifteen.

On the list of what Maximum Ride hates, birthdays come in third, right after showing mushy, emotional feelings and having to save the world after someone else screws it up. The highlight of her "special" day had been being able to stuff her face with quadruple servings of her mom's homemade cake.

And right next to birthdays on the list? Presents. Nudge's gift of the girliest clothes ever were going straight to the back of her closet. Jeb had even shown up with a present, _and_ tried to be friendly, but Max wasn't buying it.

_Here's a cheap iPod shuffle I got for you. Now let's just forget about how I've made your life miserable! No hard feelings, eh? _Maybe if he had gotten her cheeseburgers, she would have considered it.

Gazzy and Iggy had promised that they wouldn't blow anything up for an entire day, which was probably the only useful present she had received.

The only person who hadn't given her a gift was Fang, hence her extremely pessimistic mood as she enters her bedroom.

She flicks the light switch up, and flops down on her bed, pressing her face into her pillow. Fang had even come up with a lame-butt excuse – that he hadn't had enough money to buy her anything.

She shouldn't really care, after all, she does hate presents. But her birthday has just gone unacknowledged by the person that she cares about most.

"Hey."

Max jumps up in surprise. Fang is standing by the doorway of her room. She glares at him.

He sighs. "You're mad at me."

She doesn't say anything, and he sits down next to her.

"Look, I just didn't want to give you your present in front of everyone else. Honest."

She looks up into his dark eyes and sighs also, because she can tell that he isn't lying.

"Fine. What is it?" she asks, trying to pretend that it doesn't matter to her.

He hesitates. "It was kind of the only thing I could think of."

Max rolls her eyes and holds out her hands, waiting. He takes a small box out of his jacket pocket and places it in her expectant palms.

She opens it, and he watches as a smile spreads across her face. She takes out the simple band of gold and slides it onto her finger. Jewelry normally isn't Max's thing, but she'll make an exception for this.

"I'm not proposing to you, or anything like that. It's just that-"

Max cuts him off, pressing her lips against his. When they break apart, she notices the almost identical ring that he is wearing.

She raises her eyebrows. "A matching set?"

Fang grins sheepishly.

Max shakes her head. "Jeez, I feel like I'm in a romantic Hollywood movie."

"You'll wear it though?"

"Forever."

---------------------------

The rest of the Flock have already fallen asleep. Max is in the bathroom, brushing her hair. She's still amazed that she's not an Eraser in the mirror.

She pulls her hair into a side ponytail, and turns to go to bed. That's when she sees the black ink on the back of her neck.

_Great._

Dr. Martinez and Jeb are sitting at the kitchen table, talking and drinking tea. They both look up when Max enters the room.

Her mother's smile fades first, as she sees the expression on her face. Max flips her hair up, and turns around.

_Please tell me I'm imagining it, _she thinks. _Please._

She hears the muffled thump of a mug being set on the table.

"We're going. Now," says Jeb.

_The date! _Max wants to yell. _Tell me the freaking expiration date. _But the words won't come out.

The car pulls away from the house.

The new number one thing on Max's list of the things she hates?

Leaving without saying goodbye.

---------------------------

_Maybe it was better that way,_ she thinks. _I don't want them to see me like this though. They'll just have to wonder what happened to me._

"You have a choice, Maximum," he says to her.

She's barely listening.

"Your expiration date is in forty-eight hours. We have one last option."

She closes her eyes now. _Options. They never work._

"Listen to me, Maximum! This was our last resort, but we think we can cure you. Of everything."

Everything? Not just the label on the back of her neck, but the weakness that came with it?

It had started slowly. First, she had been unable to fly or walk. Now, it was difficult to breathe, and every time she closed her eyes, it was harder to open them again. When Ari had died, he had just fallen down, never to get up again. Why was it different for her?

"There are risks though. The chances of survival are very low. And we'll have to take away everything that makes you a human-avian hybrid."

She opens her eyes, and using all of her strength and willpower, she nods. It doesn't matter. She'll die anyways.

The man, Jeb, she realizes, breathes a sigh of relief. "Thank you. We'll do everything we can." She feels a needle against her skin, and everything becomes silent and dark.

---------------------------

He is sitting on the porch, watching the sun go down. Someone taps his shoulder. He turns around, expecting an M-Geek, but it's only Angel.

She holds out the envelope; her eyes are red and puffy. "Jeb was here. He said to give to you."

He takes it from her, and she walks away. He rips open the side of the envelope, and dumps its contents into his hand.

A simple band of gold falls into his palm, clinking against the almost identical ring that he is wearing.

His vision blurs.

The ring has been returned in less-than-perfect condition. The heart that he gave with it will always be with her.


End file.
